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xp_logs2015-09-15 03:56 pm
x-celsis.livejournal.com) wrote in xp_logs2015-09-15 03:56 pm
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Paradise Lost: Long Is The Way And Hard
The 19th Precinct station house was almost exactly what Emma had expected; an unassuming five storey brownstone building quietly nestling in the middle of row of similar size buildings. Based on its location near one of the most expensive shopping districts in the world, with diplomatic residences countable in the dozens, it seemed suitably discreet and low-key.
~As a rich and well-connected mutant,~ Emma murmured into her sister's head, ~this is exactly where I'd want the evidence that I was beaten to death by my cellmates and who they were tucked away safe and sound.~
"Hmm? Oh. Yeah." Adrienne mumbled out loud, bringing her focus off baseball and back onto Emma and the task at hand. Discovering that she was a member of the White Court in this universe had been a bit of a shock, and she'd nearly quit, but had decided against her better judgment to stay in the club so that she could try and help her sister in any way possible. Now, however, it appeared as if helping Emma meant helping Shaw, something which Adrienne wasn't too happy about, but something she'd agreed to do because Emma had asked. And now that she'd agreed she wasn't about to screw it up. She scolded herself to give Emma her full attention. ~I feel like we should have brought donuts. Or pizza,~ she told her sister. ~That's how I usually bribe the cops for my X-Factor cases.~
~It may not be quite as useful when we’re asking them if they or their colleagues are involved in murder,~ Emma sent back dryly. ~Even if only by turning a blind eye. Do you have all the paperwork Doug organised for you, Detective Second Grade Horner of 34 Precinct?~ Her tone changed slightly. ~Really? Donuts and pizza? That’s all you need to bribe police in New York? That seems terribly low rent.~
~Well, they're not terribly high-class where we operate,~ Adrienne answered ruefully. ~My general observation has been: the more bigoted the officer- which is what leads to my agency taking up someone's case in the first place- the less sophisticated the bribe required.~ She shuffled the paperwork she was carrying. ~I don't know how much I like the name Aynsley Horner, to be honest,~ she admitted, though she was mostly teasing. ~Aynsley seems like someone who should have short hair. I really need to buy some wigs.~
~Short hair is convenient,~ replied Emma. ~And I've always preferred really big hats to wigs. Probably not as useful when you're being a detective, I guess. The desk sergeant is waiting for you - he's got a very recent memory of a call from 34 Precinct saying you're on your way to pick up some evidence for the 34th.~ Her mental tone was suddenly dryly amused. ~You're up, little sister. Break a leg. Win an Oscar. Whichever suits.~
Adrienne snorted at the 'really big hats' comment, the mental image it gave her an amusing one. "Are you coming in or are you staying outside?" she inquired curiously. She actually wasn't sure what kind of range Emma's telepathy had.
~Outside,~ replied Emma. ~There's barely a shield in place on a single mind in there. I was considering phoning it in, but I thought you might like back-up outside if it all went wrong.~ She sent her sister the telepathic equivalent of a blown kiss. ~The desk sergeant is primed, I'll make sure whoever's accompanying you to the evidence store gets distracted at just the right moment; this is like those exercises singers do to keep their voices in shape and about as difficult as it would be for them. Do you think I can sing in this world?~ There was a moment's white space in Adrienne's head, as Emma turned her attention elsewhere and then she was back. ~No. No. That hasn't changed at all.~
Snorting again, Adrienne entered the precinct and sauntered over to the desk sergeant. "Afternoon," she greeted the burly man, who barely gave her a glance as he continued typing on a computer. She shuffled the papers Doug had given her and set them on the desk, the pick-up form on top. "Detective Horner from the Thirty-Fourth, here to-" She stopped as the sergeant stamped the form without looking up and waved her away. "Uh. Okay. Cool. I'll find it myself, I guess, then. Lovely chatting with you."
Familiar with police stations thanks to her visits for X-Factor and personal business, Adrienne managed to navigate her way towards the evidence stores. ~I didn't even get to show off the shiny fake badge Sue made me,~ she pouted down the mental link to Emma as she approached the desk leading to the evidence stores. There was a middle-aged woman in plainclothes behind the desk. There was a computer next to her, but she was watching Adrienne. "Hi," she smiled at the woman, hoping to send off some 'us women cops need to stick together' vibes to foster some goodwill. "Aynsley Horner, from the Thirty-Fourth. I have some paperwork here to pick up some evidence."
Frowning, the woman gestured for her to put the papers down. Still frowning, she turned away, papers in hand to use as reference, and started walking among the rows of shelving to get what Adrienne was supposed to be there for. "Oh! Actually, could I go with you?" Adrienne suggested, smiling sweetly.
"Why would I let you do that?" the woman asked as she turned back, frowning even more now.
~Ruh roh. Help?~
~People who stick to the rules are always so annoying,~ Emma sent to Adrienne, and then reached her power into the woman's mind. She had some low-level natural shields, formed from a truly deep well of suspicion, but they were no match for the subtle insinuation of Emma's power. It was the lightest of brushes, a small dip into recent memory and all of sudden there was a story of a case lost, a cop disgraced at 34 Precinct because of a chain of custody for evidence that hadn't been confirmed, memory of half-seeing an item on the evening news. Emma slipped out again, back to Adrienne. ~Tell her you just need to confirm chain of custody, so you can sign off the forms correctly. That 34 has put some new procedures into place since they lost that case in court. You can roll your eyes, if you like.~
~Cheers, ducky,~ Adrienne chirped affectionately as she made a Sad Face at the woman. ~Good thing I was a model for five years, huh?~ "Chain of custody," she explained to the woman, bowing her head in deference to the disgraced cop in the story Emma was selling to the woman. "The Thirty-Four really can't have a repeat of what happened to... poor... Detective Hole. Phil was a great guy. Bosses can't have a repeat of that blown court case, so we've gotta be really sticky on procedure now, y'know?" She did indeed roll her eyes.
The woman blinked at Adrienne a couple times and then nodded, returning to the desk to unlock the cage door and let Adrienne through to the evidence lock-up.
Thanks to Doug's research, Adrienne knew the evidence lot numbers of the clothing she was there to Read. Unfortunately, counting numbers she realized that they were a couple rows over from where the woman was leading her. ~Your show once again, sis.~
~You always give me the easy stuff to do,~ replied Emma and reached out again to the officer. This time it was not a subtle insinuation but a straight out takeover of the woman’s mind. Emma’s powers were honed to such an extent that there was no change to the woman’s stride or facial expression as she turned into an automata, leading Adrienne directly to the evidence locker they needed and opening the door. ~She won’t remember any of this,~ Emma reported to Adrienne. ~Do your Reading and I’ll wake her up when you’re back at the right locker. Doug’s on stand-by to fix the cc TV footage as soon as you’re out of there.~
~Righteo.~ Adrienne cracked her knuckles and started touching items of clothing that had belonged to the men who'd beaten von Roehm to death. The clothes provided her with images of the men who'd done the crime, as well as some information about where they were living before they'd gotten arrested and had been brought to lock-up. Wearing the clothes when they were being processed and put into the lock-up gave her a good view of their names on their processing records, as well.
Normally at this point Adrienne would write the information down into her notepad. This time she didn't. She didn't want any written evidence about what she was doing, because she was pretty sure that getting this information for Shaw meant she was aiding and abetting some future murders. If Garrison ever found out...
Adrienne didn't want to think about that.
But she didn't want to lie to him, either.
Trying to force the thoughts of what she was going to do about Garrison out of her mind, Adrienne returned to the locker she was supposed to be at. ~You can wake her up now. I've got the names,~ she told Emma, her enthusiasm for this outing with her sister waning as the weight of what she was doing and how it might affect her life sunk in.
~I'm sorry,~ Emma sent to her sister and her sympathy was absolutely real. ~You may not be wrong in what may happen to those men. But if we don't stop them now, this will be the start of a war against mutants. They know the Club. They know what we are, how much power we wield. If we let them walk away from killing the Black Rook, then they know they can kill us with impunity. Any of us. All of us. It would be the start of the end of mutants, Adrienne. And I do not like the thought of a world without us.~ She did a telepathic thing whose real world equivalent would be punching her sister lightly on the shoulder. ~No matter how crazy we might drive each other.~
Adrienne tried to push the unpleasant thoughts out of her head. The telepathic punch to the shoulder was why she was doing this. She couldn't focus on what <i>might</i> happen to these guys. They were bad guys anyway. And she wasn't responsible for Shaw's actions. Garrison knew enough about Shaw that he would understand that, right?
~True. No one can drive me as crazy as you. I guess that means I need to keep you around,~ Adrienne said, trying to replicate Emma's shoulder punch but managing something closer around the boob area.
~Always, little sister,~ replied Emma.
~As a rich and well-connected mutant,~ Emma murmured into her sister's head, ~this is exactly where I'd want the evidence that I was beaten to death by my cellmates and who they were tucked away safe and sound.~
"Hmm? Oh. Yeah." Adrienne mumbled out loud, bringing her focus off baseball and back onto Emma and the task at hand. Discovering that she was a member of the White Court in this universe had been a bit of a shock, and she'd nearly quit, but had decided against her better judgment to stay in the club so that she could try and help her sister in any way possible. Now, however, it appeared as if helping Emma meant helping Shaw, something which Adrienne wasn't too happy about, but something she'd agreed to do because Emma had asked. And now that she'd agreed she wasn't about to screw it up. She scolded herself to give Emma her full attention. ~I feel like we should have brought donuts. Or pizza,~ she told her sister. ~That's how I usually bribe the cops for my X-Factor cases.~
~It may not be quite as useful when we’re asking them if they or their colleagues are involved in murder,~ Emma sent back dryly. ~Even if only by turning a blind eye. Do you have all the paperwork Doug organised for you, Detective Second Grade Horner of 34 Precinct?~ Her tone changed slightly. ~Really? Donuts and pizza? That’s all you need to bribe police in New York? That seems terribly low rent.~
~Well, they're not terribly high-class where we operate,~ Adrienne answered ruefully. ~My general observation has been: the more bigoted the officer- which is what leads to my agency taking up someone's case in the first place- the less sophisticated the bribe required.~ She shuffled the paperwork she was carrying. ~I don't know how much I like the name Aynsley Horner, to be honest,~ she admitted, though she was mostly teasing. ~Aynsley seems like someone who should have short hair. I really need to buy some wigs.~
~Short hair is convenient,~ replied Emma. ~And I've always preferred really big hats to wigs. Probably not as useful when you're being a detective, I guess. The desk sergeant is waiting for you - he's got a very recent memory of a call from 34 Precinct saying you're on your way to pick up some evidence for the 34th.~ Her mental tone was suddenly dryly amused. ~You're up, little sister. Break a leg. Win an Oscar. Whichever suits.~
Adrienne snorted at the 'really big hats' comment, the mental image it gave her an amusing one. "Are you coming in or are you staying outside?" she inquired curiously. She actually wasn't sure what kind of range Emma's telepathy had.
~Outside,~ replied Emma. ~There's barely a shield in place on a single mind in there. I was considering phoning it in, but I thought you might like back-up outside if it all went wrong.~ She sent her sister the telepathic equivalent of a blown kiss. ~The desk sergeant is primed, I'll make sure whoever's accompanying you to the evidence store gets distracted at just the right moment; this is like those exercises singers do to keep their voices in shape and about as difficult as it would be for them. Do you think I can sing in this world?~ There was a moment's white space in Adrienne's head, as Emma turned her attention elsewhere and then she was back. ~No. No. That hasn't changed at all.~
Snorting again, Adrienne entered the precinct and sauntered over to the desk sergeant. "Afternoon," she greeted the burly man, who barely gave her a glance as he continued typing on a computer. She shuffled the papers Doug had given her and set them on the desk, the pick-up form on top. "Detective Horner from the Thirty-Fourth, here to-" She stopped as the sergeant stamped the form without looking up and waved her away. "Uh. Okay. Cool. I'll find it myself, I guess, then. Lovely chatting with you."
Familiar with police stations thanks to her visits for X-Factor and personal business, Adrienne managed to navigate her way towards the evidence stores. ~I didn't even get to show off the shiny fake badge Sue made me,~ she pouted down the mental link to Emma as she approached the desk leading to the evidence stores. There was a middle-aged woman in plainclothes behind the desk. There was a computer next to her, but she was watching Adrienne. "Hi," she smiled at the woman, hoping to send off some 'us women cops need to stick together' vibes to foster some goodwill. "Aynsley Horner, from the Thirty-Fourth. I have some paperwork here to pick up some evidence."
Frowning, the woman gestured for her to put the papers down. Still frowning, she turned away, papers in hand to use as reference, and started walking among the rows of shelving to get what Adrienne was supposed to be there for. "Oh! Actually, could I go with you?" Adrienne suggested, smiling sweetly.
"Why would I let you do that?" the woman asked as she turned back, frowning even more now.
~Ruh roh. Help?~
~People who stick to the rules are always so annoying,~ Emma sent to Adrienne, and then reached her power into the woman's mind. She had some low-level natural shields, formed from a truly deep well of suspicion, but they were no match for the subtle insinuation of Emma's power. It was the lightest of brushes, a small dip into recent memory and all of sudden there was a story of a case lost, a cop disgraced at 34 Precinct because of a chain of custody for evidence that hadn't been confirmed, memory of half-seeing an item on the evening news. Emma slipped out again, back to Adrienne. ~Tell her you just need to confirm chain of custody, so you can sign off the forms correctly. That 34 has put some new procedures into place since they lost that case in court. You can roll your eyes, if you like.~
~Cheers, ducky,~ Adrienne chirped affectionately as she made a Sad Face at the woman. ~Good thing I was a model for five years, huh?~ "Chain of custody," she explained to the woman, bowing her head in deference to the disgraced cop in the story Emma was selling to the woman. "The Thirty-Four really can't have a repeat of what happened to... poor... Detective Hole. Phil was a great guy. Bosses can't have a repeat of that blown court case, so we've gotta be really sticky on procedure now, y'know?" She did indeed roll her eyes.
The woman blinked at Adrienne a couple times and then nodded, returning to the desk to unlock the cage door and let Adrienne through to the evidence lock-up.
Thanks to Doug's research, Adrienne knew the evidence lot numbers of the clothing she was there to Read. Unfortunately, counting numbers she realized that they were a couple rows over from where the woman was leading her. ~Your show once again, sis.~
~You always give me the easy stuff to do,~ replied Emma and reached out again to the officer. This time it was not a subtle insinuation but a straight out takeover of the woman’s mind. Emma’s powers were honed to such an extent that there was no change to the woman’s stride or facial expression as she turned into an automata, leading Adrienne directly to the evidence locker they needed and opening the door. ~She won’t remember any of this,~ Emma reported to Adrienne. ~Do your Reading and I’ll wake her up when you’re back at the right locker. Doug’s on stand-by to fix the cc TV footage as soon as you’re out of there.~
~Righteo.~ Adrienne cracked her knuckles and started touching items of clothing that had belonged to the men who'd beaten von Roehm to death. The clothes provided her with images of the men who'd done the crime, as well as some information about where they were living before they'd gotten arrested and had been brought to lock-up. Wearing the clothes when they were being processed and put into the lock-up gave her a good view of their names on their processing records, as well.
Normally at this point Adrienne would write the information down into her notepad. This time she didn't. She didn't want any written evidence about what she was doing, because she was pretty sure that getting this information for Shaw meant she was aiding and abetting some future murders. If Garrison ever found out...
Adrienne didn't want to think about that.
But she didn't want to lie to him, either.
Trying to force the thoughts of what she was going to do about Garrison out of her mind, Adrienne returned to the locker she was supposed to be at. ~You can wake her up now. I've got the names,~ she told Emma, her enthusiasm for this outing with her sister waning as the weight of what she was doing and how it might affect her life sunk in.
~I'm sorry,~ Emma sent to her sister and her sympathy was absolutely real. ~You may not be wrong in what may happen to those men. But if we don't stop them now, this will be the start of a war against mutants. They know the Club. They know what we are, how much power we wield. If we let them walk away from killing the Black Rook, then they know they can kill us with impunity. Any of us. All of us. It would be the start of the end of mutants, Adrienne. And I do not like the thought of a world without us.~ She did a telepathic thing whose real world equivalent would be punching her sister lightly on the shoulder. ~No matter how crazy we might drive each other.~
Adrienne tried to push the unpleasant thoughts out of her head. The telepathic punch to the shoulder was why she was doing this. She couldn't focus on what <i>might</i> happen to these guys. They were bad guys anyway. And she wasn't responsible for Shaw's actions. Garrison knew enough about Shaw that he would understand that, right?
~True. No one can drive me as crazy as you. I guess that means I need to keep you around,~ Adrienne said, trying to replicate Emma's shoulder punch but managing something closer around the boob area.
~Always, little sister,~ replied Emma.
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